China hikes consumption tax on cigarattes to deter smoking

China will more than double the tax on cigarattes to 11 per cent to discourage smoking in the world's largest consumer and producer of tobacco from Sunday.
The tax rate imposed on cigarette wholesalers on the basis of taxable prices will be increased to 11 per cent from 5 per cent, and they will also pay an additional 0.005 yuan (less than one US cent) for each cigarette they sell from May 10, the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation said in a statement.
As the world's largest tobacco maker and consumer, China has more than 300 million smokers, almost the size of the US population, and another 740 million people are exposed to second-hand smoke each year.

According to official data, some 1.36 million Chinese people die from smoking-related diseases annually.
To curb the number of smokers, China released a draft regulation on tobacco control in late 2014 that will ban all form of tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.